GEORGIA COOPERATES WITH NATO COUNTRIES.

Some sixty U.S. Army medical personnel and 100 Georgian counterparts practiced battlefield medical treatment at a Georgian military base from June 16 to June 21–the first joint exercise on Georgian territory, five years after the country joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. The U.S.-financed exercise was designed to practice field surgery for a Georgian battalion which had been subjected to air attacks by a hypothetical enemy intruding into Georgia’s airspace. Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze termed the exercise “a big step forward for Georgia.” Next year, Georgia is scheduled to host, also for the first time, a joint combat exercise with troops of NATO countries.

On June 22, Tevzadze signed with U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Edward Warner in Tbilisi a military cooperation agreement for 2000. The agreement apparently ushers in a new stage in American military assistance to Georgia. Having until now focused on border troops and the coastal guard, the assistance programs will now concentrate on Georgia’s air defense and on the reform of ground forces. Warner was cited as stating in Tbilisi that the assistance can bring Georgian troops close to NATO standards within five years, provided that Georgia’s economic situation makes possible an adequate defense budget.

On Warner’s heels, General Hussein Kivrikoglu, head of the General Staff of Turkey’s armed forces, headed a military delegation to Tbilisi. The Turks brought along a donation of US$1.4 million worth of military equipment, raising to US$10 million the value of their recent donations to Georgia. In mid-June, a fourteen-strong group of military experts from NATO countries arrived in Tbilisi to work out recommendations for upgrading Georgian emergency and rescue units and to assess those units’ equipment needs (Prime-News, June 14-17, 21-23).

The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions